Literacy rate — all countries

Literacy rate — Latin America & Caribbean

Literacy rate in Latin America & Caribbean in 2024 — 94.95%. Since 1974, the indicator has risen by 16.82 pp.

2024 94.95% +0.12 pp vs 2023
World rank
Period maximum 94.95%2024
Period minimum 78.13%1974

Trend over time

1974–2024 · % of population aged 15+

Literacy rate — Latin America & Caribbean, 1974–20247580859095197419791984198919941999200420092014201920241974: 78.13%1975: 78.15%1976: 78.55%1977: 78.99%1978: 79.45%1979: 79.86%1980: 80.23%1981: 80.64%1982: 81.03%1983: 81.41%1984: 81.78%1985: 82.13%1986: 82.48%1987: 82.78%1988: 83.23%1989: 83.65%1990: 83.97%1991: 84.65%1992: 85.32%1993: 85.98%1994: 86.62%1995: 87.26%1996: 87.65%1997: 87.93%1998: 88.29%1999: 88.62%2000: 88.92%2001: 89.11%2002: 89.4%2003: 90.1%2004: 90.38%2005: 90.36%2006: 90.57%2007: 91.41%2008: 91.71%2009: 91.9%2010: 91.82%2011: 92.52%2012: 92.83%2013: 92.81%2014: 93.31%2015: 93.45%2016: 93.89%2017: 93.92%2018: 94.1%2019: 94.27%2020: 94.33%2021: 94.5%2022: 94.68%2023: 94.83%2024: 94.95%
Change over the period: +16.82 pp Annual average: 0.34 pp

Comparison, 2024

How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: Latin America & Caribbean

Latin America & Caribbean 94.95%
World 87.74%
Literacy rate — Latin America & Caribbean, by year Latin America & Caribbean All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2024 94.95 +0.12 pp
2023 94.83 +0.15 pp
2022 94.68 +0.18 pp
2021 94.5 +0.17 pp
2020 94.33 +0.06 pp
2019 94.27 +0.17 pp
2018 94.1 +0.18 pp
2017 93.92 +0.03 pp
2016 93.89 +0.44 pp
2015 93.45 +0.14 pp
2014 93.31 +0.5 pp
2013 92.81 −0.02 pp
2012 92.83 +0.31 pp
2011 92.52 +0.7 pp
2010 91.82 −0.08 pp
2009 91.9 +0.19 pp
2008 91.71 +0.3 pp
2007 91.41 +0.84 pp
2006 90.57 +0.21 pp
2005 90.36 −0.02 pp
2004 90.38 +0.28 pp
2003 90.1 +0.7 pp
2002 89.4 +0.29 pp
2001 89.11 +0.19 pp
2000 88.92 +0.3 pp
1999 88.62 +0.33 pp
1998 88.29 +0.36 pp
1997 87.93 +0.28 pp
1996 87.65 +0.39 pp
1995 87.26 +0.64 pp
1994 86.62 +0.64 pp
1993 85.98 +0.66 pp
1992 85.32 +0.67 pp
1991 84.65 +0.68 pp
1990 83.97 +0.32 pp
1989 83.65 +0.42 pp
1988 83.23 +0.45 pp
1987 82.78 +0.3 pp
1986 82.48 +0.35 pp
1985 82.13 +0.35 pp
1984 81.78 +0.37 pp
1983 81.41 +0.38 pp
1982 81.03 +0.39 pp
1981 80.64 +0.41 pp
1980 80.23 +0.37 pp
1979 79.86 +0.41 pp
1978 79.45 +0.46 pp
1977 78.99 +0.44 pp
1976 78.55 +0.4 pp
1975 78.15 +0.02 pp
1974 78.13

About the indicator

The share of the population aged 15 and older able to read and write a short simple statement about their everyday life. The UNESCO definition is deliberately minimal — it is the threshold of functional literacy, not an assessment of the quality of education. In most countries the data come from censuses and surveys, so they are updated irregularly.

Important: The series is incomplete: values are published only for the years in which a census or a literacy survey was conducted.

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), license CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.